Apparatus for controlling delooping of festooned paper



Nov. 14, 1961 M. .1. HAUSNER ETAL 3,008,620

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DELOOPING OF FESTOONED PAPER Nov. 14, 1961 APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DELOOPING OF FESTOONED PAPER Filed May 9, 1958 M. J. HAUSNER ETAL s sheets-sheet 2' Fig 2 46 49 f2@ 49 53 g 5/3 im l 2R .r .r'l- *55"5 35 46 O O O O O O O O O /Hf 5w il 25a AIR 91 /56 lol a2 30 57 64 l- 57 6, s(5 66 f sw 49 Marlon JHausner Edu/ard widden INVENToRs BY M/AM Nov. 14, 1961 M. J. HAUSNER ET AL APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DELOOPING OF FESTOONED PAPER Filed May 9, 195e 99 loo Ocy mw 103 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 u n n r n u n n n n n n WIND UP DRI VE MOTOR MorlonJHausner .Edward (7. Widdew INVENTORS' ,Weg

United States Patent O 3,008,620 APPARATUS FR CONTROLLING DELOOPING F FESTOONED PAPER Morton J. Hausner and Edward C. Widden, Rochester,

N.Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 9, 1958, Ser. No. 734,355 18 Claims. (Cl. 226-14) The present invention relates to a control system, and more particularly to an automatic system for controlling the delooping of festooned paper.

As is well known, after a paper web is coated, it is passed through a drying operation at which time the paper is hun-g from spaced sticks in the form of depending festoons. In order to cope with increasing coating speeds, it is believed necessary to provide a more effective delooping system at the windup end; one which would allow essentially waste or damage-free sheet take-down; reduce the instances of stick dropping, and preferably at relatively low cost.

The problems generally connected with delooping a festoon of paper supported from sticks are fourfold. The bottom of the last festoon or loop tends to kink when allowed to roll upward at the beginning of the delcoping cycle. 'Ihe edges of the lfestoon tend to tear when a sheet is allowed to oat and then fall in the latter part of the cycle. There is a tendency to abrade the coated surfaces when the sticks are jammed on the dead rail. A deiinite personal safety and sheet damage hazard is present when the sticks fall from the rail during the clean-out phase of the winding cycle at which time, under prior arrangements, the delooping must be successively moved further and further back along the rail in order to gain storage space for the next roll change.

The device of the present invention accomplishes these four main objectives for which it was intended. The sticks are nearly always supported on a conveyor chain, and a reasonably constant delooper position is maintained, and the delooped festoon is handled in a more careful manner.

The present invention has as its principal object the provision of an improved delooping system.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an automatic control means to regulate the speed of the motor drive for the conveyor chains in accordance with the position of the festoon supporting sticks at the delooping point.

Yet another' object of the invention is the provision of a delooping system which is simple, rugged, automatic in its operation, and highly effective in use.

To these and other ends, vthe invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as 'will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification. Y

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a side elevation view of a festoon carrying mechanism, showing the relation thereto of the novel delooping system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic arrangement of the control system of the present invention, showing the relation of the various parts;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG. l, showing the relation of the controllers to the lfestoon moving and supporting sticks;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view through one of the controllers and its associated control mechanism, showing the relation of the parts;

FIG. 4A is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the relation of parts in the other controller;

"ice

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional View through a pressure switch which controls a signal lamp;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view through one of the relay switches, showing the cylinder in the valve in closed position.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view through a solenoid which interlocks the control system with the windup drive motor; and

FIG. 8 is a Iwiring diagram for the solenoid in FIG. 7, showing the relation thereof to the windup drive motor.

Similar reference numerals throughout the specification indicate the same parts.

Referring to FIG. l of the drawings, there is shown a conveyor consisting of two endless conveyor chains 11 and 14 in end-to-end relation for moving the festoon supporting sticks 10. For the purpose of simplicity only a few festoons are shown, but it is apparent such festoons extend the full length of the two conveyor chains 11 and 14. The sticks 10 are supported adjacent their ends on the moving chains 11 which, in turn, are supported on stationary rails 12. The sticks 10, with depending festoons 13, are moved along at a constant speed by the conveyor chains 14, and are then discharged therefrom and slide down an inclined member 15 to the variable speed conveyor, generally indicated by the numeral 16. The sticks 10 and festoons 13 are moved to the left, as shown in FIG. l. The conveyor chains 11 are moved to the left by means of a motor 17, which, in turn, is connected by a belt or chain 18 to a pulley 19 mounted on the right shaft of conveyor 16.

Above the left end of conveyor 16'is a plenum charnber 20 which is supplied with air under pressure through a pipe 24 from a suitable source of air such as a fan, not shown. The bottom of the chamber 20 is provided with a series of nozzles or jets 21, which blow streams of air downward to open the festoons 13, all as is deemed apparent from FIGS. 1 and 3. The parts so far described do not form a part of the invention and are shown for illustrative purposes only.

The conveyor 16 and its associated parts may be of any suitable or standard design. It will be noted from FIG. 3 tha-t the sticks 10 project laterally beyond the conveyor chains 11 of the conveyor 16. An airline 25 extends to the left, FIG. l, under' the upper run of the conveyor 16 to supply air under pressure to a pair of nozzles or air jets 25a, which are positioned below the ends l26 of` sticks 10, as best shown in FIG. 3. A pair of controllers 27, of the type illustrated in FIG. 4, and to be later more fully described, are positioned above and in vertical alignmentv with the jets 25a, and above the stick ends 26. These controllers 2'7 may be suitably mounted on and supported by the ends of the chamber 20. These controllers 27 serve to control the speed of the motor 17, and Ihence conveyor 16, in a manner to be later described.

As the two controllers 2'7 are substantially identical in construction, only one Will be described in detail. The slight diierences wil be pointed out hereinafter. Each controller 27 comprises a housing 28 from the bottom 29 of which depends a chamber 30 in which is housed a bellows-type of diaphragm of the kind shown at 31. The bottom 32 of each chamber 30 is provided with a tubular portion 33 through which air pressure may act on the diaphragm 31. The top of the diaphragm 31 is formed with an actuating member 34 which extends through an aperture 35 of the bottom 29 of the housing I28 to a point inside the latter as shown in FIG. 4.

Considering iirst the right hand controller 27, FIG. 2, a lower bar 36 is pivoted at 37 and rests on the upper end of the member 34. A spring 38 is connected to the left end 39 of bar 36 and tends to rock the latter clockwise to retain bar 36 on member 34, as shown in FIG. 4. From the left end 39 of bar 36 an inclined bar 40v extends upward and has the upper end 41 thereof connected to the left end of a second horizontal bar 43, the right end of which is pivoted at 45.

An air line 46 extends through the right wall of housing 28 and terminates in an open end or jet 48. The air line 46 has the right end thereof connected to a cross T restriction 49 having four openings 51 to 54. IFrom the right opening 52 of the restrictor 49, an air line 53a extends to a suitable source of air pressure, not shown. Thus, air under pressure is supplied in line 53a, restrictor 49 and line 46 to the control jet 48. The top opening 53 of the restrictor 49 is closed, as seen in FIG. 4. The left regulator 27 shown schematically in FIG. 4A diiers from the Iright regulator only in that the inclined member 40a is connected to lower bar 36 to the right of pivot point 37 instead of at the left of the pivot point as corresponding inclined member 40 is so that spring 38 serves to normally close the jet 48 rather than open it as in the case of the right regulator 27. Otherwise the two regulators 27 are the same and corresponding parts in FIGS. 4 and 4A are designated by the same reference characters except inclined members 40 and 40a. The purpose of these diierences in the two regulators `will be later described. The bottom opening 54 of each restriction 49 is connected by a line 56 to a relay valve 57, as shown schematically in FIG. 2. The controllers 27 are commercially available units and do not, per se, form a part of the present invention. The same is also true of the regulators 49, which are known as T restrictors. The relay valves 57 also are commercially available items.

The left valve 57 is provided with one side port 60 which is connected with a line 61 to a pressure tank 62, and the other port 63 is connected to bleed-off line 64, see FIG. 6. As both valves 57 are identical in structure, only one is described in detail. The corresponding parts of the two valves are designated by the same numerals. The right valve 57 has its lett port connected by a line 65 to tank 62, while the right port is connected by a line 66 to a suitable source of air under pressure. A third side port of each valve 57 is plugged and is not used, see FIG. 6. The body of each valve 57 has a central bored axial opening 69 which extends completely through the body. A valve piston 70 is slidable in the main opening 69, as is deemed apparent from FIG. 6. One end of the opening 69 is closed by a suitable plug 72, while the other end 73 of opening 69 is threaded to receive the end of the line 56 which connects valve 57 and bottom 54 of the upper restriction 49. The piston 70 is formed with an annular groove 74 which, when in registry with openings 60 and 63, will form a passage through the valve 57 and the valve is open. However, when groove 74 is out of registry with openings 60 and 63, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the valve is closed under the action of spring 7S. A third cross T restriction 49 is positioned in the bleed line 64 to the left of the left valve 57, while a fourth cross T restriction 49 is positioned in the line 65 between the tank 62 and the right valve 57. Also, each restriction 49 is provided with a needle valve 74a which extends through one of the air passages, see FIG. 4, to control the flow of air therethrough.

It is believed apparent from the drawings and the above description that when the upper bar 43 of the regulator 27 is in the position to close the end 48 of air line 46, air pressure will build up in line 46 and will be transmitted through line 56 to the corresponding valve 57 to move the piston 70 downward, FIG. 2, to cause grooves 74 to register with openings 60 and 63 to place the valve in the open position. However, when bar 43 is moved out of engagement with end 48, line 46, and line 56 will be bled and the spring 75 will move the piston 70 upward to the position shown in FIG. 2 to shift the annular groove 74 out of registry with the vve openings 60 and 63 to close the valve. l

The top of the tank 62 has connected thereto an air line 80 which is connected through a solenoid valve,

indicated by the numeral 81, to a second air line 82 which connects valve 81 to cylinder 83 in which a piston 84 is movable. Valve 81 is a commercially available 3-way solenoid valve. A spring 85 is positioned in cylinder 83 behind piston 84 and tends to move the latter to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2. A piston rod 86 has one end connected to the piston 84 and the other end connected to a rheostat 87 which, in turn, is connected by lines 88 to an amplidyne speed controller system 89, or any other suitable type of speed controller. The arrangement is such that adjustment of the rheostat 87 as piston rod 86 moves to the right under the action of spring reduces the speed of the motor 17, while movement of the piston rod 86 to the left by the pressure of air entering cylinder 83 increases the speed of the motor. Current is supplied to the system 89 by means of Wires 89a, which is a 440-volt, 3-phase A.C. current. The system 89 is then connected through lines 90 to drive motor 117.

In addition to the above structure, a commercially available electrical pressure switch 91 of the type illustrated in FIG. 5 is connected to the air line 82. An electric line 92 connects switch 91 to a signal lamp 93v to indicate to the operator that proper pressure is in the line between tank 62 and cylinder 83. The light 93 will light up when the pressurein line 82 is about 17 lbs. p.s.i. This signal light 93 will indicate to the operator to assume normal windup speed, for a purpose to be later described.

As the carrier 16 is moved to the left, the sticks 10 and festoons 13 are moved `similarly until the sticks nally reach the delooping point at the left end of conveyor 16. At this time each stick moves down an inclined track 185 to a suitable point of disposal. As the stick is moved out, the web of paper moves over what is called a turtle back 96' and linally winds up on the windup roll, not shown. As the festoons are fed from conveyor 16 to the turtle back, the festoons gradually ilatten out, as shown in FIG. l. The windup spool is driven by a windup motor 96 which is supplied by electricity through a 3-wire system 99, each wire of which has positioned therein a switch 100. The solenoid valve 81 is connected by wires 101 and 102 to suitable 100- volt, 60-cycle AC. current. The line 101 has connected therein a switch 103. The arrangement is such that when the switches 100 are closed, switch 103y is also closed so when the drive motor 96 is energized the solenoid valve 81 is also energized. Also, when switches 100 are open to deenergize the motor 96, switch 1013 is also open to deenergize solenoid valve S1. When solenoid valve 81 is energized, an armature 104 thereof is drawn upward, see FIG. 7, to uncover the inlet port 105 which is connected to line 80 from the tank 62, to pass air there.- through and to discharge port 106 kwhich is connected to the line 82 to supply air pressure to `cylinder 83 to control motor 17. However, when the windup motor 96 is deenergized, solenoid valve 81 is also deenergized and the armature 104 moves downward under action of spring 107, which moves armature 104 into position to close o port 105 to cut ott the air pressure to cylinder 83, as is deemed apparent. The line 82 is then bled through the discharge port 106 to an axially extending slot or groove 108 and finally through passage 109 to vent line 110, the latter projecting from the upper end of valve 81, as shown in FIG. 7. Thus, as soon as the windup motor 96 and solenoid valve 81 are deenergized, air pressure is cut off line 82 and the motor 17 then drives the chain 11 at a minimum speed. This is a condition which exists when a splice is. being made at the windup motor. However, when Splicing is complete the motor 96, and hence solenoid 81, are energized and the armature 104 of solenoid 81 again moves upward t0 connect the ports 105 and 106 to supply air to the cylinvder 83 to pickup the speed of the motor 17 and to allow the control system to function again. During the splicing operation, sticks accumulate on chains 11. Therefore, after the splice is made, the motor 96 is operated at an increased speed, which is about 1% times normal speed, to take away .the excess sticks. When the pressure in line 82 goes up `about 17 lbs. p.s.i. switch 91 actuates to control light 93 to indicate to the operator that normal conditions have been restored. The operator will then reduce the speed of the windup motor 96 t0 its Inormal speed. Y

In order to hold the delooper position fairly constant, a pneumatic control, of the type above described, is used to vary the resistance to the amplidyne speed control 89so as to vary the speed of chains 11. The basic idea of the system is to speed up-the chains when sticks 10 are scarce near the delooper point and slow down the chains when there is a crowd of sticks at the delooper point. The control of the chain drive motor 17 is initiated by the controllers 27 which are used to sense the presence or absence of sticks 10 thereunder. For this reason, the controller 27 may be considered as sensing members or as a sensing system. This sensing is accomplished by irnpinging high pressure air jets 25a onto the sensing diaphragms of the controllers 27. The latter will produce one extreme of pressure when the jets impinge on the sensing diaphragms (no sticks present) and will produce thepopposite extreme of pressure when the air jets are not yallowed to impinge on the sensing diaphragms (when a stick is present). The output of these controllers 27 indirectly regulates the pressure on the air operated rheostat 87 by opening and closing the relay valves 57. Both controllers 27 are used in order to give some anticipation of stick distribution before the desired delooper point is reached.

With the above stick structures in mind, the operation will now be described:

If the rst or right sensingv controller 27 senses no sticks beneath it, full pressure from the right jet 25a impinges on the diaphragm of the right controller 27, see FIG. 2. This pressure will rock the lever 36 of the rightcontroller 27 counter-clockwise about pivot 37 and will pull down on Vthe left bar 40 and also on the upper bar 43 to close thek right end 48 of the air line 46. Pressure will then be transmitted through line 56 to act on plunger 70 of valve 57 to move the latter downward until the annular groove 74 therein is in alignment with a supply air line 66 and discharge line 65 to allow air from line 66 to ll tank 62. This increased pressure in tank 62 will increase the pressure on piston 84 of cylinder 83 to adjust rheostat 87 to increase the speed of motor 17 tov speed up the chains 11 to feed the sticks 10 at an increased speed. f

Onv the other hand, if there is a stick below theV righ controller 27, air from the right jet 25a will not impinge on the diaphragm of the right controller 27. As a result, spring 38 will rock bar 36 clockwise about pivot 37 to raise bar 43 oif the end 48 of line 46 to 4bleed line 46 to the rightvalve '57. The bleeding of lines 46 and 56 frees the plungerf70 of the right valve 57 and the latter closes under action of spring 75 -to cut off the supply of air from the line 66 to tank 62. The result is that air pressure on piston 84 is reduced and the spring 85 will move piston 84 to the right, see FIG.2, to adjust rheostat 87 to slow down the chain drive. Thus, when no sticks are present at the delooper point, the chain speed is increased to move the sticks faster, but when the stick is present, the chains run at slower speed.

y When no sticks are sensed under -the left controller 27, full air pressure is supplied to the diaphragm of the left controller 27 by the left air jet 25a. This air pressure will rock lever 36 counterclockwise about pivot 37 to push on bar 40a to lift bar 43 oif the end 48 of line 46 to bleed the latter and line 56. As the left line 56 is bled, the left valve 57 closes under action of spring 75. When the left valve 57 is closed pressure in tank 62 is maintained and will not increase until right valve 57 opens at which time the .increased pressure will be transmitted to cylinder 83 to adjust piston 84 to position the rheostat 87 to increase chain speed. 1If, however, the left controller senses a stick thereunder, air does not impinge on the diaphragm of the left controller. Spring 38 will then rock bar 36 clockwise about its pivot 37 to pull down on bar 40a and 43 to close the end 48'of line 46. .Pressure is then established on the left line 56 and the pressure acts on piston 70 of the left valve 57 to move the left Valve to open position. When the left valve 57 is open, the pressure in tank 62 is bled through line 61 between tank 62 and left valve 57, and through a bleed line 64 which extends to the left of left valve 57. When the left valve 57 is closed pressure in tank 62 is maintained and will not increase until right valve 57 opens at which time the increased pressure will be transmitted to cylinder 83 to adjust piston 84 to position the rheostat 87 to increase chain speed, On the other hand, when the left valve is open, pressure is bled olf the tank and the reduced pressure through cylinder 83 and rheostat 87 slows down the chain speed tov move the sticks at a lower rate. The two controllers 27 act in cooperating relation to move the conveyor chains at the proper speed to insure the proper position of the sticks at the delooper point. The use of two controllers serves to give some anticipation of the stick distribution before the desired delooping point is reached.

As mentioned above, when a splice is being made in the web at the windup motor 96, the latter is deener-v gized. When the motor 96 is deenergized, the solenoid valve 81 is also deenergized and any pressure on tank 62 is bled through valve 81. Under this condition the chains 11 are at minimum speed and the sticks accumulate on the chain. After the splice has been made, the motor speed is run at about 1'1/2 times normal speed to remove the excess sticks which have accumulated on the conveyor chains. During this time, the controllers 27 cooperate to build up pressure in .tank 62 and this pressure is transmitted to cylinder 83 and rheostat 87 to speed up motor 17. Also, as the pressure is building upy in the tank 62, the increased pressure acts to lift the diaphragm 31 of pressure switch 91. When the pressure on the switchis built up about 17 lbs. p.s.i., the pin 117 of the diaphragm 31 enga-ges a microswitch 118 to close the latter and light up the light 93 which is lit, it notities the operator that the desired stick distribution-has -been reached, and the speed of the motor 96 is then reduced to normal. v

The present invention thus embodies an arrangementl by which the chain speed will vary until the constant spacing of the sticks fixes the pressure, and the air operated rheostat 87 has an essentially stable value. 'I'he apparatus consists of what may be termed a sensing or control portion and an operating portion. The sensing portion includes the air jets 25a and the controllers 27, while the operating section includes the valves 57, solenoid Valve 81, cylinder 83 and rheostat 87. The sensing circuit is controlled and actuated by the presence or absence of sticks 10. The operating circuit is, in turn, controlled by the adjustment of the sensing circuit, as is deemed apparent.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried' out in a number of ways. Therefore, this application is not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover al1 variations and modifications thereof which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier movable to and through a delooping position, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, drive means for continuously moving said carrier, of sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier near said delooping position for sensing the distribution of festoon supporting means on said carrier as they reach this position, and means controlled by said sensing means for adjusting the speed of said drive means.

2. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier movable to and through a delooping position, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable With said carrier, drive means for continuously moving said carrier, of iluid controlled sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier near said delooping position for sensing the distribution of said festoon supporting means on said carrier as they reach this position, and means controlled by said sensing means for adjusting the speed of said carrier drive means. 3. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier movable to and through a delooping position, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, drive means for continuously moving said carrier, of uid controlled sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier near said delooping position yfor sensing the distribution of said festoon support-ing means on said carrier as they reach this position, and uid actuated means controlled by said sensing means for adjusting the speed of said carrier drive means.

4. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of -web festoons, the combination With a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, electric motor means to move said carrier, of a rheostat for controlling said motor, a uid actuated piston connected to said Irheostat to adjust the latter to control the speed of said motor, and fluid actuated sensing means controlled by said festoon supporting means for adjusting said piston in accordance with the distribution of said festoon supporting means.

5. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web Afestcons, the combination with a movable carrier movable to and through a delooping position, -festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, drive means for continuously moving said carrier, of sensing means positioned adjacent said canrier near said ydelooping position for-'sensing the distribution of the festoon supporting means on said carrier as they reach this position, a speed control means for said carrier drive means, and iluid means controlled Iby said sensing means to adjust said control means to vary the speed of said carrier in accordance with the distribution of said festoon supporting means on said carrier at said delooping position.

6. ln |a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, means to move said carrier, of means to control the speed of said carrier moving means, a fluid pressure tank, means to supply a uid under pressure to said tank, means to connect said tank to said Ycarrier control means, and means under the control of said festoon Supporting means to adjust the iluid pressure in said tank for adjusting the pressure of the iluid supplied to said carrier control means to adjust the speed of said carrier in accordance With the distribution of the festoon supporting means on said carrier.

7. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon Supporting means mounted `on and movable with said carrier, means to move said carrier, of a fluid actuated sensing unit positioned adjacent said canrier to sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means on Said carrier, a fluid storage tank, means to supply a uid under pressure to said tank, speed control means for said carrier moving means, and uid actuated means connected to said speed control means and to said tank and controlled by said sensing unit to adjust said carrier speed in accordance with the distribution of said festoon supporting means. on said carrier.

8. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web lfestoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, means to move said carrier, of a fluid actuated sensing unit positioned adjacent s-aid cam'er and cooperating with said festoon supporting means to sense -the distribution of said last mean-s on said carrier, adjustable means for controlling the speed of said carrier, fluid actuated means connected to said control means to adjust the latter to vary Ilthe speed of said carrier moving means, and a fluid supply means connected to said speed control means and under the control of said festoon supporting means to adjust the speed of said carrier control means to adjust the latter in `accordance, with the distribution of the festoon supporting means on said carrier.

9. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, means to move said carrier, of iuid actuating sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier to sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means on said carrier, an adjustable member connected to said carrier moving means to vary the speed of carrier moving means in accordance With the distribution of the festoon supporting means at said sensing means, a speed control member connected to said carrier moving means, adjusting means for said speed control member, a iluid storage tank, means to supply a tiuid under pressure to said tank, means to connect said tank to said adjusting means to adjust the latter in accordance to the pressure in said tank, and means controlled by said sensing means to vary the pressure in Isaid tank in accordance with the distribution of said festoon supporting means on said carrier to control the pressure supplied to said adjusting means to -adjust the speed of said carrier moving means in response to said distribution. i

10. In -a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with -a movable oam'er, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, means to move said carrier, of fluid actuating sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier to sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means on said carrier, an electric motor connected to said carrier to move the latter, a rheostat connected into the circuit of said motor to control the speed thereof, an operating piston connected to said rheostat to adjust the latter to vary the motor speed, a fluid storage tank, means to supply a uid under pressure to said tank, means to connect said tank in fluid communication with said piston to adjust said rheostat in accordance with the pressure on said tank, a movable valve in the uid line to said tank, and means controlled by said sensing means to adjust the valve to varyI the pressure in said tank to enable said piston to ladjust said rheostat to control the motor speed in accordance with the distribution of the festoon supporting means on said carrier.

11. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, Afestoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, motor means' to move said carrier, of a pair of fluid actuated sensing means positioned `adjacent said carrier but spaced therealong to Sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means along said conveyor, a rheostat to control the speed of said motor, a fluid actuated means connected to Said rheostat to adjust the lattena source of pressur connected to said fluid actuated means, and means controlled by said sensing means to vary the pressure in said lluid pressure source to control the adjustment of said rheostat and motor to adjust the latter in accordance with said distribution.

12. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, a motor to move said carrier, of a pair of iiuid actuated sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier but spaced therealong to sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means along said conveyor, a rheostat to control the speed of said motor, a iluid actuated means connected to said rheostat to adjust the latter, a source of iiuid pressure connected to said fluid actuated means, a pair of valves connected in iluid communication With said fluid pressure source to control the pressure therein, means to connect one of said sensing means to one of said valves, and means to connect the other of said sensing means to the other of said valves, said valves being controlled by sensing means to control the pressure at said source, said pressure variation in said source being transmitted to said rheostat control means to adjust said rheostat to vary the speed of said motor in accordance With the distribution of said festoon supporting means `along said carrier.

13. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, festoon supporting means mounted on and movable with said carrier, an electric motor to move said carrier, of a pair of fluid actuated sensing means positioned adjacent said carrier but spaced there- -along to sense the distribution of said festoon supporting means along said conveyor, a rheostat to control the speed of said motor, a iluid actuated means connected to said rheostat to adjust the latter, a source of pressure connected to said fluid actuated means, a pressure tank, a line for supplying a fluid under pressure to said tank, a valve positioned in said line, means to connect one of said valves to one of said sensing means, a bleed off line for said tank, a valve positioned in said bleed olf line, and means to connect said other valve to the other of said sensing units, said valves being controlled by said sensing means to regulate the pressure in said tank `and said fluid actuated means to adjust said rheostat and said motor speed in accordance With the spacing of said festoon supporting means `along said carrier.

14. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination with a movable carrier, a motor connected to said carrier to move the latter, sticks carried and moved by said carrier and supporting festoons of paper, means including a rheostat to control the speed of sia-id motor, of a pair of sensing controllers positioned above said carrier, air jets positioned Ibelow said carrier and in vertical alignment with said controllers to impinge air streams on said controllers, means to supply air under pressure to said jets, the impinging of Kair 'by said jets on said controllers depending on the distribution of said sticks positioned along said conveyor, a uid pressure tank, a high pressure air line connected to said tank, a control valve in said line to control the flow of air into said tank, means to connect said valve to one of said sensing controllers so that said valve `will be controlled by the pressure of a stick under said one sensing controller, a bleed line connected to said tank, a valve in said bleed line, means to connect said last valve to the other of said sensing controllers, said sensing controllers thus controlling the pressure in said tank in relation to the distribution of the stick on said carrier, and means to adjust said rheostat in accordance with the pressure on said tank to control the motor speed so that the latter will adjust the position of said sticks.

15. In a delooper control device for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combina-tion of a movable carrier, sticks carried and removably supported by said carrier in random distribution to support and move said festoons to a delooping position, drive means for continuously moving said carrier, of a stick sensing apparatus adjacent said carrier and delinitely positioned relative to said delooping position, a control apparatus for varying the speed of said carrier drive means, and means controlled by said sensing apparatus for adjusting said control apparatus in accordance with the pos-ition of said sticks relative to said delooping position.

16. In a delooping control device for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the comb-ination of a movable carrier, sticks carried and supported by said carrier to support and move said festoons to a delooping position, drive means for continuously moving said cartier of a stick sensing apparatus responsive to the presence and absence of at least one of said sticks at a position relative to said delooping position, an adjustable control apparatus connected to said carrier drive means to vary the speed thereof, and uid actuated means responsive to said sensing apparatus for adjusting said control apparatus to regulate the speed of said oarrier moving means in accordance with the position of at least one of said sticks relative to said delooping position.

17. In a delooper control apparatus for controlling the position of delooping of web festoons, the combination With a movable carrier movable to and through a delooping position, festoon supporting means mounted on said carrier at random intervals and movable therewith, a variable speed drive for continuously moving said carrier, of means controlled by said festoon supporting means for sensing the distribution of said supporting means as they reach said delooping position and for adjusting the speed of said carrier in accordance with said distribution of the festoon supporting means.

18. A delooper control apparatus according to claim 17 characterized in that said last mentioned means comprises a pneumatically actuated sensing and speed control system.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,352 Wohlrobe Aug. 14, 1934 2,641,469 Pagell June 9, 1953 2,831,677 Elwood et al.v Apr. 22, 1958 2,874,961 Kelly Feb. 24, 1959 

